Review by KMINER in Kids & Family, Home and Garden in Kids & Family, Home and Garden

June, 01 2008

Pros: inexpensive, good smell

Cons: not right for my hair

I decided a few months ago, after some reading, research and testing, to switch many of my hair products. My hair was always either dry or oily, or both. Now not every day, but I still wondered why I had to work so hard. With 3 small kids and a full time teaching job I was already getting up at 5:00 am to get everyone and myself ready and out the door.

I needed to simplify my routine and get better products for me. One thing I realized is that my hair did better when I used a conditioner that did not have a "'cone" (silicone) in the ingredients. Briefly, it's a smoothing agent that provides that "slip" to wet hair (and stays some on the hair when it dries) and can make hair soft. But it can also weigh down my fine hair and make it look greasy, as well as build up on my hair over time and it both greasy and dry. There are a lot of forums and websites to look at about this, and both sides the issue ...

Basically I discovered that the less I used conditioners with this ingredient, the better hair days I had.

One the drugstore type conditioners recommended on many sites was Alberto Vo5. Frankly, I was shocked. I've seen them locally from anywhere from $.80 to $1.20 for a 15 oz bottle -- surely something so cheap would just be chocked full of horrible ingredients and not work on my hair?

But I had to try.

Though I found a VO5 conditioner line that I fell in love with, one of the lines I tried was their "Silky" moisturizing conditioners - specially their Alberto Vo5 Silky Experiences Moisturizing Conditioner Champagne Kiss with Silk Proteins. Champagne Kiss is a strawberry and chamapgne blend in a pink bottle - so a sort of light bubbly fruity scent. The bottle has a silver colored flip top lid that is easy to use.

Sensual Indulgence. Indulge in the sensual experience of silk proteins. VO5?s Silky Experience Shampoos and Conditioners are infuse with silk proteins to smooth and moisturize hair back to its beautiful and manageable condition, giving it frizz-free and silky shine.

The product that comes out is thinner (but not runny like water) and light pink in color. You can really notice the scent blend and it can linger a little in my hair and in the shower - but it's not bothersome. I find I have to use about a palm size of this product and I usually leave it on my hair for a minute or two while I wash in the shower, then I rinse it all out.

I knew enough to know that not all "cone" free conditioners were equal, and that some times the combinations of ingredients that might work in one person's hair might not work in mind. I found that this product, Alberto VO5 Silky Experiences Smoothing Conditioner, Champagne Kiss was just too heavy for my hair.

Once dried I didn't notice any softer or nicer hair. If anything my hair felt and looked heavier than before - I knew because it lost it's "bounce" and fullness every time I used this conditioner. I tried it also in my daughter's hair (she's 2 1/2 with long, wavy hair) and it really flattened out her natural waves and flips on the ends of her hair. My thoughts are that the "silky" proteins were just not a good match for our hair types and this is not a conditioner that I'd personally purchase again.

I felt overall the price was certainly affordable, and therefore a nice way to try this product. I think this product might work in drier, curlier hair that really may need the silk protein, but not for thinner, straighter hair like ours. It was a great smelling product though, and if they made this scent in some of their other conditioners I'd buy this scent again!